Dear Welder Series… four link, sway bar, tig welder

Fabrication, Welding and how-to’s for your home built hot rod from WelderSeries.com

Dear Welder Series…

I have a 1956 Chev truck and want to put a 4 link in the back .was thinking of a triangulated one. would that work? the frame is 34 inches wide.or should i use a parallel 4 bar and a panhard bar and which kit # do you recommend ? thank you Dave

Dave, this is a good question… There are several considerations when choosing a rear suspension system.
An important one is frame width.
A typical triangulated rear 4-link has the upper bars mounting off of the frame boxing plates and angling back to each side of the differential housing. The narrower the frame, the less triangulation is possible unless the upper bars get shorter. Shorter upper bars cause greater pinion angle change. The upper bars could be angled from wide apart on the axle tubes to close together off of a crossmember to get more triangulation.

A parallel 4-link and Panhard bar is not as sensitive to frame width. The bars should be mounted as wide apart as practical to stabilize the rear end.

The triangulated system requires more precise installation. It costs less because there is no Panhard kit

The parallel 4-link/Panhard system allows adjustment in any direction with a minimal effect on other settings.

Both systems can cause problems with exhaust routing.

I recommend the parallel kit because it’s easier to install and easier to set up.

Thanks for writing. I hope we can help with your project.

Paul Horton

Dear Welder Series…

Do you make your universay sway bar in 0500 inch diameter. The 48 Plymouth Conv I’m working on never had a rear sway bar and I may not be able to use anything greater than .750 on the front.

Bob, all of our sway bars are .75″ diameter. The outer tube, which serves as a bearing (urethane bushing) holder and a place for the mounting tabs, is 1-3/8″ O.D.

Dear Welder Series…

Specifically I’m looking to get into a tig setup for the first time. Would a Miller Maxstar 150 be powerful enough to do the nice (and quick, I might add!) tig welding I see being done on your videos?

Share This

2 Comments

In a couple of weeks I will be replacing the MacPherson struts, rotors and brake pads in the front end, and I have purchased sway bar links so I can replace them at the same time.

My problem is that there is no reference in the Haynes repair manual or anywhere on the Internet on how to do this. I figured it would be easier since I will be replacing the struts anyway (as per the Haynes manual), but I have never done this kind of work before.

I would appreciate it if you could send me some step-by-step instructions on how to replace the sway bar links, or point me in the right direction as to where I can get this info. I think it will be pretty easy, but a web site with a photo might be helpful.